Pilots...don't get caught out of the cloud !

The cloud is the hottest thing in computing...and it makes perfect sense: outsource the messy business of hardware and network infrastructure (which is a specialization most of us are not very good at), so we can focus on developing and consuming software-based services. The recent explosion in cloud services has come about with the convergence of virtualization technology (whereby many different servers at the software level can cleverly share the same hardware without getting tangled up) and  multi-core processors (where multiple CPU cores -- which do the heavy-lifting inside a computer -- can share the same physical ancillary services such as memory, network connectivity, storage, power supplies, cooling fans, rack-space, etc).  With the result, we now have, in essence, the commoditization of computing infrastructure: it no longer really matters where the servers sit.  From our perspective as developers and consumers of services, the computers are somewhere out there in the clouds, accessible via the URL (the detail is of course a bit more complex, but the concept is essentially that simple).

For pilots, like anyone else, we can expect the cloud to have an ever-increasing impact on our lives in terms of the rapid expansion of cloud-based services. For example, an obvious and natural "fit" for a cloud-based pilot app is the virtual (web-based) logbook. As such there is a proliferation of offerings in this area.

As a "pet project" (during the long winter months here in the UK), I decided to embrace the cloud by creating iNavCalc (and iMetBrief), web- and email-based apps for VFR pre-flight planning. On the principles that (i) humans shouldn't do what computers can do better; and (ii) you should never do twice what you can teach a computer to do once, I have outsourced to the cloud the considerable and repetitive grunt-work of pre-flight VFR nav planning. I find that these apps save me hours compared with the old way of doing things. I use them every time I fly. It now takes me seconds or minutes rather than hours to pre-plan a flight. Because I find them so handy, I thought other pilots would, too. So, I've recently launched them as a free service for the global flying community. The apps are platform-independent: all you require is a smartphone/tablet/desktop that supports email, web-browsing, and can display PDF files. I'll talk more about the details in later postings. For now, give them a go (they are free)... and do please let me know what you think.


Fly Meister

Fly the famous Isle of Man TT Mountain Course

The world-renowned TT motorcycle road-racing season is kicking-off on the Isle of Man. Over the next few weeks (30th May to 12th June 2011), this erstwhile tranquil & sleepy island in the middle of the Irish Sea transforms itself into petrol-head heaven. Mostly of the two-wheeled variety, but no need to get left out if you prefer two wings to two wheels. You can fly the TT course (above 3000 feet, you need to comply with air traffic at EGNS -- they operate TT airspace restrictions during the races, details by NOTAM). In a typical light aircraft you'll have little chance of beating the times achieved by the bikes. They complete a lap of the circuit in 15 minutes, reaching 200 mph or so on the straights. I've tried it in my Bulldog. Best I could achieve was little over 20 minutes... Click here to open the TT route in iNavCalc (requires registration).

Announcing iNavCalc and iMetBrief

Update: iNavCalc V3.0 mobile app now released

Update: all described functionality now available via mobile app...

Flying season is upon us, so we'll cut to the chase: check out our brand new, free-to-use, flying apps designed by pilots, for pilots. First up is iNavCalc, our mega-powerful feature-packed email and web-based route navigation planning tool, complete with AutoMETic wind and weather calculations. To get started, send a blank email to plogs@flylogical.com and check the email response for further instructions. Check the documentation for detailed instructions.

Next up is iMetBrief, our simple but massively convenient TAF and METAR app which basically does what it says on the tin. Send a blank email to met@flylogical.com to get started.

(Our apps are freshly-minted, so don't expect perfection: simply use them if you find them useful, don't if you don't. Follow us on Twitter to keep in touch.)

Toes clear...
Fly Meister

AutoMETic for the people

If you're a GA pilot, like us, you are likely frustrated at the plethora of tools and resources out there -- some free, others paid -- to help you with your flight planning. Given all the available resources, you might reasonably ask "why can I not log on somewhere, put in my route, and get the weather forecast and PLOG ?"  The answer to that simple question, as far as we can tell, is "because such a site doesn't exist" (at least not for FREE). That in a nutshell has led to the development of this site: namely, to provide a web-based resource where pilots can access FREE tools to provide the key information they need to conduct their flight. Moreover, to be of any real use, the tools must work equally well from the desktop, tablet, or smart-phone. That is the challenge we have set ourselves.

Our aim is to provide a suite of tools to address these and other GA-oriented goals. All these tools are built "by pilots, for pilots" so you can be sure we have considered convenience and usability. If the tool isn't easy to use in the real world, we will not post it up.

Your patience is appreciated since (i) please remember these resources are being published FREE of charge to you; and (ii) we are obsessive about the need to make the tools usable not just functional. That means continuous tweaking, re-testing, re-tweaking until we get it it right.

First up will be a MET and PLOG web application (currently in final stages of testing) which will enable you to get current MET and generate PLOGs for any route in the world.

The application is aimed at GA pilots on VFR flights. Main features:

• Ability to import a route from the open-standard GPX format (http://www.topografix.com/gpx.asp). Various third-party software tools support this format, such as Memory-Map (http://memory-map.com/index.html?http://memory-map.com/home.htm). For example, we are currently testing our app using Memory-Map software running on an Ipad: we enter the desired route (as a "route") in Memory-Map, and send it by email to FlyLogical (via the export-to-email button in Memory-Map). Our app then sends back (as email attachments) the current MET and PLOG reports for the route.
• The PLOG computation for drift uses the current MET (from METARS, TAFS, and global weather forecasting software) to determine winds aloft for each waypoint along the route (we call this "AutoMETic")
• The PLOG computations for magnetic heading use a numerical geomagnetic model to calculate the magnetic deviation for each and every waypoint for the current calendar date (i.e., it doesn't just perform some kind of lookup on previously-computed data grid which can grow stale when the magnetic field of the earth shifts as the years go by).
• The PLOG calculations provide altimetry (transition levels, flight levels, etc) and performance  (density altitudes, freezing altitude, etc) calculations along the route (again using AutoMETic to determine localised temperatures and pressures for the basis of the computations).
• The PLOG calculations provide solar angle calculations (azimuth and zenith) along the route corresponding to the dates and times along the route, enabling, for example, to determine if any of the flight is conducted in darkness, or if any of the flight will be conducted "into the sun" (possibly affecting visibility) etc.
• The PLOG calculations include fuel consumption profile along the route (including consideration of fuel consumption for initial climb-out, and any en route changes in altitude) 
• The PLOG calculations include range and endurance estimation for possible diversion from any point along the route, based on remaining fuel along the route.
• Ability to specify wide range of parameters for the PLOG calculations including altitude profile along the route, airspeed profile along the route, date and time of departure (including UTC offset for local time), waypoint at which the stopwatch is zeroed (e.g., to enable PLOG times to be computed relative to a specified starting waypoint which can be different from the departure airfield).
• Ability to save routes and parameters for convenience and later re-use (still FREE, but requires registration)
• Ability to set and save preferences such as aircraft performance parameters (IAS, climb rate, fuel consumption, fuel capacity, etc) used in the PLOG calculations (still FREE, but requires registration)
• Ability to set and save preferences for dimensional units (feet or metres for altitude, mph or kts for speed, mb or InchesHg for pressure, etc)  used in the PLOG parameters and in the generated output report (still FREE, but requires registration)

We are excited about the finalisation of this feature-rich FREE service which we will be publishing on this site imminently. 

Toes clear.

FlyMeister